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Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Foundation has named four transgender women who should be declared International Heroes for Women's History Month.

Just as we can’t limit the celebration of women across the world to just a single day, we can’t limit the great potential of women to boxes. Today, we do more than just celebrate the great women trailblazers who fulfilled roles historically dominated by men. Today, we also celebrate the women who created their own roles and bettered life for their own communities from the inside out.

I’ve been on Team Gandalf ever since he first visited the Shire. It was so nice to see a wizard who was truly a wizard of the people. The kind of wizard who wouldn’t even throw you in a dungeon for smoking a little Longbottom Leaf or Old Toby. Here was a wizard who didn’t have a big fancy tower. His staff and cloak were rather plain and grey. And he had quite a dream, didn’t he?

Let those who own the country, who are howling for and profiting
by preparedness, fight to defend their property.
-Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Saturday December 18, 1916
From The Masses: "Do You Believe in Patriotism?" Part II

In the March issue of The Masses, various Socialist writers responded to the question, "Do you believe in Patriotism?" Yesterday Hellraisers featured the answers to that question from two prominent Socialists women, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and Sara Bard Field. Today's edition features the responses of John Sloan and Charles Erskine Scott Wood:

From John Sloan

If I had to love a country I could love no country but this, nor could I find a fitter one to hate.

I put Patriotism with the other isms,-Militarism, Anarchism, Capitalism, Individualism, Socialism, Dogmatism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Rheumatism (I had almost written Catechism), but I am answering your question. I hope that social progress will eliminate all isms-though in the case of Futurism we have a hard one to catch.

Patriotism licks the boot of capitalism and until the earth-worms get the latter's carcass, he will need patriots. As the wage system will never enable the people of any country to consume all their products with a profit to the owning class, foreign markets are a necessity to be fought for. Patriotism is a potent means of providing the fighters. Conscription is another powerful persuader and Our Country has both (see Dick military law passed by congress in 1903 and 1908).

Today, the City of Los Angeles sends a clear message to transgender Angelenos: your voices matter and your experiences count.

The nine members of our Transgender Advisory Council will bring a new and important perspective to City Hall that will help empower trans Angelenos to lead stigma-free, productive, and meaningful lives.

Let those who own the country, who are howling for and profiting
by preparedness, fight to defend their property.
-Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Friday March 17, 1916
From The Masses: "Do You Believe in Patriotism?" Part I

In the March issue of The Masses, various Socialist writers respond to the question, "Do you believe in Patriotism?" Today Hellraisers features the answers to that question from two prominent Socialist women, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and Sara Bard Field. Tomorrow's edition will feature the responses of John Sloan and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. K. R. Chamberlin also offers an artistic answer to the question:

Artist K. R. Chamberlain on Patriotism

PATRIOTISM by K. R. Chamberlain.
The Editor, the Munition Maker and Investor: "Outrage! American Killed in Mexico! War!"
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The nomination is far from over, but as a thought experiment, I thought it useful to think about a Clinton victory in November. So, in no particular order:
1. The House will remain GOP, and probably the Senate as well

I know that everyone has been distracted, what with the Ides of March passing, five primaries, and the beginning of March Madness, but you know what?

Other things continue to happen.

Why, just Monday the White House appointed the first ever transgender person to the post of LGBT liaison. She's a Jewish Latina trans woman (you know, the person you joke about when trying to be over-the-top absurdly politically correct), named Raffi Freedman-Gurspan.

Freedman-Gurspan became the first transgender staffer appointed to the White House in 2015, working as the outreach and recruitment director in the presidential personnel office.

Raffi's new official title is Outreach & Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel and Associate Director for Public Engagement.

Author's note: this is another diary from the classics over at Daily Kos, this one from 2013. I was responding to an obtuse diary titled "what happened to the energy of hope here at DailyKos?" which has since been deleted, thank goodness. Here I lay the ground for an optimistic alternative to the usual phoniness.